Jim Johnson has worked at WLS in Chicago for 45 years. He grew up listening to Larry Lujak, Steve Dahl, and John Records Landecker, and says it was a dream come true when he landed the job covering news at the station. As a reporter and anchor for WLS, Johnson has covered it all, from plane crashes to gangsters to corrupt politicians. He calls it a ringside seat to history. Now, at the age of 69, and in good health, Johnson has decided to call it quits. He says he woke up this week and decided it was time to move on.
Cumulus Chicago Market Manager Donna Baker said, "Fourty-four years as a broadcaster in Chicago, the city that he loves, at WLS, the station that he loves, having fun and doing what he loves every day of this adventure. That's an inspiring legacy. Jim, we wish you joy. You are forever a part of the greatest station in the world, WLS."
Former WLS General Manager Michael Damsky says, "I've been a fan of Jim's since he was a part of the Steve Dahl show in the early '80s, so he was another of the radio heroes I got to work with at WLS. Besides the fact that he is an absolute gentleman, his dry witticisms were the spice of the Roe and Roeper show. And he is that way all the time. If I had known the contract deal we did in 2011 was going to be his last one, I would have made it for five years."
I interviewed Jim for Chicago Radio Spotlight a few years ago. He had some great stories. It's really worth checking out if you haven't read it before. You can read that here.
LATE UPDATE: Obviously that first paragraph in Radio Ink's column is inaccurate. He couldn't possibly have grown up listening to those guys. He was on the air in Chicago before both Dahl and Landecker even arrived here.
